Follower-plate for type-writing-machine platens.



N0. 704,479. Patented July 8, I902.

G. F. LAGANKE. I FULLDWER PLATE FDII TYPE WRITING MACHINE PLATENS.

(Application filed June 21, 1901.)

(No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheet, l.

atrozneq 5V I I Patented July 8, I902. C. F. LAGANKE.

FOLLOWER PLATE FOR TYPE WRITING MACHINE PLATENS.

(Application filed mile 21, 1901.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

THE ucnms PETERS cu, mrc-Lwno WASNINGTON, 0. cv

Patented July .8, I902.

C. F. LAGANKE. FOLLOWER PLATE FORTYPE WRITING MACHINE PLATENS.

[Application filed June 21, 1901.)

' (No Model.)

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m: NORRIS puns 71. PHOTO-LUNG" WASHINGTON. u. c.

Patented July 8, I902. C. F. LA'GANKE. FOLLDWEB PLATE FGR TYPEWRITINGMACHINE P-LATENS.

(Application filed June 21, 1901.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

THE cams Pawns COH'PNOTOLITHOH WASHXNUTGN. u. c.

UNrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES FREDERICK LAGANKE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE FISHERBOOK TYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A COR- PORATION OFDELAWARE.

FOLLOWER-PLATE FOR TYPE-WRlTlNG-IVIACHINE PLATENS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 704,479, dated July 8,1902. Application filed June 21,1901. Serial No. 65,495. (No model.)

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES FREDERICK LAGANKE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented a new and useful Follower-Plate for Type-\Vriting-Machine Platens, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in IQ type-Writing machines,andhas special reference to the equipment of a flat platen with an improvedfollower-plate designed to hold the work-sheet in a smoothly-spreadoutcondition by hearing thereon contiguous to the I5 printing-point.

To this end the invention contemplates the equipment of a fiat platenwith a followerplate arranged to bear upon a leaf of a book or a loosesheet supported upon the platen,

said plate being arranged for movement over the platen in the directionof line-spacing as the Work progresses. In this broad aspect thesubject-matter of thepresent application bears a more or less closeresemblance to the 2 5 follower-plate described and claimed in PatentNo. 573,868 to R. J. Fisher, wherein is disclosed a loose follower-plateresting upon the platen and having at its front edge an upstandingflange designed to be engaged by the frame of the traveling printingmechanism, so that the plate Will be advanced with the machine as thelatter is intermittently moved by the actuation of its line-spacingmechanism. The Fisher follower-plate, however, is a mere detachedelement, having no positive engagement with either the platen or themachine except such as is afforded by the contact of the machine-framewith the upstanding flange and is therefore necessarily incapable ofbeing restored to its initial position except by being lifted from thefront end of the platen and replaced at the upper or rear end thereofafter the printing mechanism has been moved rearwardly subsequent to thecompletion of the printing operation.

The object of my invention, therefore, as distinguished from thedisclosure in the Fisher patent is to provide a platen with afollower-plate of the character specified hav- 5o ing sliding engagementwith the main tracks or guides for the traveling printing mechanism, theengagement being such as to properly retain the plate over the platen inposition to be fed forward by the movement of the printing mechanism.This arrangement insures the retention of the follower-plate in positionfor use at any time, as its engagement with the tracks constitutes it apermanent though movable part of the platen equipment.

In the concurrent application of Herman F. Eckert is disclosed atransverse web or guardplate engaging the main tracks or guides andshiftable over the platen in the direction of line-spacing; but saidplate is designed to be moved manually by the operator, and itsengagement with the main tracks or guides is purposely effected in amanner to preclude the possibility of movement of the plate except whenurged positively in the manner specified. In other words, the Eckert Webor Work-guard is frictionally held at all times against casualdisplacement, even when the rails are elevated. The web or plate shownin the Eckertapplicationis not designed to be advanced by the machine orautomatically, and hence the follower-plate of the present applicationis distinguished from Eckert by the provision of means for advancingsaid plate by means of the machine and is distinguished from Fisher,inasmuch as it engages the tracks or guides, andis therefore a permanentpart of the platen equipment instead of being a mere detached element.In this aspect of my invention it is immaterial whether or not thefollower-plate is frictionally held, as in the Eckert construction. In afurther development of the invention, however, it is contemplatedto'provide for the automatic return of the follower-plate to its initialposition, to 0 accomplish which result said plate is disposed in loosesliding engagement with the vertically movable or swinging sections ofthe I main tracks or guides, so asto permit the gravitation of thefollower-plate to its initial 5 position when the machineframe hasbeenmoved to the rear end of the platen and the tracks or guides elevated tofacilitate the positioning of a fresh sheet in the printing position. Inthis aspect of the invention, roo

therefore, it contemplates not only a followerplate shiftable over theplaten in the direction of line-spacing,-but also the provision ofmeansfor automatically restoring the follower-plate to its initial positionat the upper or rear end of the work-sheet.

The invention further consists in certain details of construction andarrangement to be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and succinctly defined in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a flat platenequipped with a follower-plate constructed and mounted in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through a.platen equipped with my invention and supporting the traveling printingmechanism, the frame of which is shown in engagement with thefollower-plate. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, on a'somewhat enlargedscale, of a portion of the platen, showing the main tracks or guidesswung upwardly to effect the automatic re turn of the follower-plate;and Fig. t'is a detail perspective view of the follower-plate detached.Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the follower-platefrictionally retained in any position to which it is moved by theforward travel of the machine-frame. Fig. 6 is a sectional view showingthe subject-matter of Fig. 5 with the machine moved back and the railselevated, the followerplate being frictionally retained against rearwardgravitation. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a platen equipped with afollowernlale and another form of means for effecting the return of thefollower-plate to its initial position, and Fig. 8 is a sectional viewillustrating more in detail the structure shown in Fig. 7.

It is evident that the invention may be ap plied with equal facility toany type of typewriting machines embodying a flat platen over which theprinting mechanism is designed to travel; but for illustrative purposesthe preferred embodiment of the invention isshown in the accompanyingdrawings in connection with a fiat plate 1 and the guiderails 2, such asare commonly employed in connection with the Fisher book-type-writingmachine now in extensive commercial use.

In carrying out the invention the swinging sections 3 and L of the maintracks or guides, which are usually connected at their front ends by atransverse connecting-bar 5, are provided in their inner faces withlongitudi nally-disposed grooves or channels 6, which receive theopposite ends of a comparatively thin follower-plate 7, disposedtransversely over the platen and provided, preferably at thelongitudinal center thereof, with one or more upstandingmachine-engaging projections 8, preferably in the form of a plurality ofshort pins or studs, as shown.

It is of course understood that the worksheet 9,, which may be eitherthe leaf of a book or a loose sheet or card, is supported upon theplaten in a flat or spread-out condition, and the traveling printingmechanism 10 is supported by the main tracks or guides in a manner topermit its travel over the platen for presentation to the work-sheet.Under ordinary conditions there is some slight tendency of the leaf orsheet to twist or bulge away from the platen, and it is for the purposeof insuring thesmooth fiat condition of the sheet at the printing-pointthat my improved follower plate is provided. While the opposite ends ofthe plate are engaged with the swinging sections of the main tracks orguides, still the plate proper is substantially in contact with thewriting-su rface and is therefore capable of being disposed upon thework-sheet in a manner to hold the latter perfectly fiat and smooth atthe printing-point, adjacent to which point the rear edge of the plateis located when the lower front bar 11 of the traveling machine-frame isin contact with the machine-engaging projections 8, as shown in Fig. 2.Therefore as the machine is advanced in the direction of line-spacingthe follower-plate is moved over the platen in the same direction andconstantly maintains a position in advance of the printing-point;

When the printing operation has been completed,the traveling printingmechanism is moved to the rear end of the platen, and the swinging railsor guides are raised for the purpose of removing the printed sheet andreplacing the same with a blank sheet or card. In that embodiment of theinvention illustrated in the first four figures of the drawings theengagement of the .plate with'the tracks or guides is such as to presentlittle or no frictional resistance to the movement of the plate, and thelatter will automatically slide back or gravitate to its initialposition as soon as the tracks or guides have been sufficientlyelevated. The follower-plate will thus be repositioned without specialattention thereto on the part of the operator. Obviously, however, thereturn of the follower-plate to its initial'position after the printingoperation might be effected in avariety of ways-as, for instance, by theemployment of a spring to positively return the plate, as'shown in Figs.7 and 8, instead of permitting it to gravitate, as in that embodiment ofthe invention illustrated in the first four figures of the drawings, orwhere gravity is depended upon the vertically-movable frame composed ofthe main tracks or guides or other supporting members for the platemight be automatically elevated, in either of which events the sameresultto wit, the automatic return of the follower-plate would beeffected.

I have not illustrated mechanism for elevating the main tracks or guidesautomatic ally, because such is the invention of Charles F. Laganke andRalph D. Stackpole and is described and illustrated in their concurrentapplication, Serial No. 52,213, filed March 21, 1900.

In Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings I have illustrated the follower-plateas being frictionally retained by the rails-that is to say, the plate isfitted in the grooves in a manner which will insure the frictionalretention of said plate at any point to which it is moved by the forwardtravel of the machine-frame. This arrangement is particularlyadvantageous when it is desired to employ the leaf of a book as acopysheet over which the carbon element or web is led. In certainclasses of work it is desirable to employ comparatively smallworksheetsas, for instance, bills-and instead of making separate copiesfor each bill the leaf of a book is employed as a copy element for anumber of such work-sheets. In this class of work a small work-sheetas,for instance, a billis imposed upon a carbon element and the severalitems are entered. As the machine progresses in the direction ofline-spacing the follower-plate is automatically advanced. Thus when abill has been completed a carbon copy thereof will have been enteredupon the page and the follower-plate will indicate the location of thenext line of writing without necessitating the lifting of the carbonelement to facilitate the accurate positioning of the next work-sheet.In other words, when a bill is completed the followerplate, frictionallyretained by the rails, will indicate the location of the last line ofthe carbon entry on the book, and the operator may therefore elevate therails and insert a new sheet, the upper edge of which is accuratelypositioned with the aid of the followerplate,asitis evidentthattheposition of the follower-plate will not be changed when the railsare moved away from the platen. Another use of the follower-plate inthis connection is to facilitate the drawing of a line under each carboncopy when entered on the pagethat is to say, when a bill has beentype-written and a copy made on the page of the book the follower-platemay be used as a straight edge to guide a pencil or other bluntinstrument drawn across the carbon element to transfer a line to thepage of the book. These lines are entered to avoid confusion in readingthe sales-records and constitute a convenient division for the entries,so that the latter will stand out prominently and without confusion withrelation to each other on the page of the book.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated that form of my invention whichcontemplates the auto matic retraction of the follower-plate through themedium ofa spring or springs. In this construction the plate 7 isprovided with the machine-engaging projections 8 and is loosely guidedby the machine-rails, as in that form of the invention illustrated inFigs. 1 to 4, inclusive. Instead, however, of depending upon therearward gravitation of the plate the latter is attached in any suitablemanner to a retracting device or mechanism, the illustrated form ofwhich comprehends a pair of tapes 12, secured to the plate 7 and woundupon rotary drums 13, supported in suitable brackets 14, pendent fromthe under side of the platen. Within these drums, which are of hollowform, are mounted springs 15, having their opposite ends attached to thedrums and to fixed parts, respectively, and arranged to be wound by theadvance of the followerplate as the printing mechanism is moved over theplaten in the direction of line-spacing. The power thus stored isexerted to rotate the drums in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8 whenthe plate is released by the rearward movement of the machine, and thuswhile the advance of the follower-plate is effected automatically by themachine as the latter is advanced over the work-sheet the retraction ofsaid plate will be automatically effected by means of the retractingmechanism described. It should be noted that when, as in that form ofthe invention last described, positive means are employed for drawingthe plate back to its initial position the swinging rail-sections are nolonger essential to the retraction of the plate, and the platesupporting and guiding means may therefore be rigidly associated withthe platen.

In drawing the claims I shall recite means for effecting the return ofsaid member to its initial position, in combination with the shiftablework-engaging member, and also means independent of the printingmechanism for effecting the automatic movement of said member. The termmeans as thus defined is intended to comprehend any means for effectingthe movement of the plate 7, Whether said means he comprehended by aspring for positively urging the plate automatically when the machine ismoved back or by the movable tracks 3 and 4, which when elevated to theposition shown in Fig. 3 effect the automatic gravitation of thefollowerplate to its initial position.

Therefore, while the present embodiment of the invention is believed atthis time to be preferable, I desire to reserve the right to make suchchanges, modifications, and variations thereof as may be necessary inadapting the device for use in various connections or may be suggestedby experience and experiment, provided such variations are embracedwithin the scope of the protection prayed.

That I claim is- 1. In a type-writing machine, the combination with afiat platen for the support of a work-sheet, of a work-engaging membershiftable over the platen, and means for effecting the return of saidmember to its initial position.

2. In a type-writing machine, the combina-v tion with a fiat platen tosupport the work sheet, of a work-engaging member shiftable over theplaten in the direction of line-spacing, and means for eifectin g thereturn of said member to its initial position at the rear end of theplaten.

3. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a flat platen tosupport the work sheet, and designed to support traveling printingmechanism,of a work-engaging member shiftable over the platen, andmeans, independent of the printing mechanism, for effectingthe automaticmovement of said memher.

4. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a fiat platen tosupport the worksheet, of a work-engaging member shiftable over theplaten, and means for effecting the automatic return of said member toits initial position.

5. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a flat platen 'tosupport the worksheet, and traveling printing mechanism movable over theplaten, of a follower-plate disposed over the platen for advance withthe printing mechanism, and means independent of the printing mechanismfor effecting the return of the follower-plate to its initial position.Y

6. In-a type-writing machine, the combination with a flat platen, andthe tracks or guides for the traveling printing mechanism, of afollowerplate slidably engaging said tracks or guides, and having meansdisposed for engagement with the traveling printing mechanism to eifectthe movement of the follower-plate through the movement of said printingmechanism.

7. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a fiat platen, andthe swinging tracks or guides for the'traveling machine-frame, of afollower-plate having loose sliding engagement with said tracks orguides, whereby said plate will gravitate to its initial position whenthe tracks or guides are raised, and machineengaging means carried bysaid follower-plate and disposed in the path of movement of thetraveling machine-frame.

8. In a type-writing machine, the combination with the flat platen, andthe swinging tracks or guides for the traveling printing mechanism, of afollower-plate having loose sliding engagement with said tracks orguides, whereby said plate will gravitate to its initial position whenthe tracks or guides are raised, and machine engaging projectionslocated above the top surface of the'follower-plate.

9. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a fiat platen, andthe swinging tracks or guides for thetraveling machine-frame, of afollower-plate having loose sliding engagement with said tracks orguides, whereby said plate will gravitate to its initial position whenthe tracks or guides are raised.

10. In a type-writin g machine,the combination with a flat platen, andthe tracks or guides for the traveling printing mechanism, of afollower-plate slidably engaging said tracks or guides and movable awayfrom the writingsurface when said tracks or guides are elevated, andmeans for effecting an engagement of the follower-plate with thetraveling printing mechanism to insure the advance of the follower-platein the direction of line-spacing.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES FREDERICK LAGANK E.

Witnesses:

R. J. FISHER, A. R. WARNER.

